Here we go. You’ve finally decided to try your hand at painting and after much research you’ve concluded that oil painting is the one that suits you best: its colours are made up of pigments held together by the oil itself, which makes the product much slower to dry, allowing you to work calmer and securer with it rather than tempera and acrylics.
Plus, you’ve always been fascinated by the more classic oil colour style.
But there’s something that’s still holding you back: being a total beginner, you have no idea what product to buy. Oil painting can be an expensive hobby and since it’s your first time you can’t be sure it’s worth it.
To understand what to buy the first thing to do is to give yourself a budget: there are different price ranges to satisfy even those who do not intend to spend large sums of money and even a small starter kit is capable of giving great satisfaction.
What colours to buy depends on your budget, needs and style. But if you’re a novice you may not have the answer to all these questions. In addition, the colour should be bright and easy to handle even for those who are not very skilled.
In summary, you need a product that does the job and is easy to use.
Don't forget: colours (together with brushes) are your main allies when you want to express yourself through painting so choose them carefully and without haste!
Van Gogh Oil Colour
Student level oil colours with a low to medium price range but great quality! There are 66 highly pigmented nuances.
Classico Maimeri
Italian oil colours produced by one of the most famous companies in this field that has already a century of history. Classico is Maimeri’s line that stands out for its excellent quality/price ratio. It dries with balanced timing, it has quite bright and vivid colours and a palette composed of 77 nuances.
Perfect for those who do not have huge demands and budgets.
Winsor&Newton Winton Oil Colour
Despite having a narrower range of colours (55 shades) they are intense and bright thanks to pigments that are also used in higher price ranges. The result is an excellent mid-range product, suitable for those who are willing to spend a little more to have higher quality performance and made by one of the most important companies in this business and of the oldest as well.
Rembrandt Extrafine Oil Colour
Higher class collection with a consequent increase in price but also in the range of colours: up to 120 shades meant for an experienced hand.
Artisti Maimeri
A range composed of 102 colours, some of which are very rare and designed for artists. The packaging is equally luxurious: it’s the original one designed by Giovanni Maimeri himself in 1923!
